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Welcome everyone to the December 18th, 2011 edition of the Yakezie Carnival!

About This CarnivalFor those of you unfamiliar with the Yakezie Personal Finance Blog Network, it is the web’s largest, most involved, and most organized group of personal finance and lifestyle bloggers. Participants in the network collaborate multiple times throughout each day on the Yakezie forums and through other mediums. You can view all of the details at the “About Yakezie” page by clicking here.

Today’s Carnival ThemeBeing as that Christmas is only 1 week away and the holiday season is when I often reflect on things for which I am thankful, I figured it’d be cool to share 10 tools that I use in my personal finances and am thankful for as part of today’s carnival theme. You’ll find these interspersed in random order throughout the post listings below. Enjoy!To get us started, listed below are this week’s Top 3 Editor’s Picks. Typically, when I host a carnival, it is quite clear what the three winning articles are. However, I find that when I’ve hosted Yakezie Carnivals, the quality of the articles is so high that I often find myself torn between about 8 articles competing for the top spots.

2. Krantcents: Holiday Networking – Holiday parties can be a great for networking. Expand your network for the future.

3. Your Finances Simplified: Work Hard and Shut Up! – I promise you, that if you worked this hard at anything, your life would be different! Mrs. YFS and I were at our local IHOP to take advantage of some of their seasonal pancakes and stumbled upon this very ambitious and dedicated employee who is the basis of my story.And, listed below are the best of the rest! The selected entries are formatted as follows – 1) Blog title in bold, 2) Post title and link, and 3) a description written by the site owner about the post.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————–10. Online Banking – No more balancing of the checkbook is needed, and all of my purchases are tracked automatically! Additionally, I can transfer funds via ACH over the Internet without deposit slips.———————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Financial Success for Young Adults: Debt: The Elephant in the Room – Debt is a reality for most college students. Don’t be afraid to manage your debt so that you can have money to invest.

Debt Black Hole: How Much Do You Spend On Your Geek Collections? – Most Geeks take their collections (action figures, props, autographed pics, original art, authentic replicas, etc.) VERY seriously! But there’s always someone out there with a bigger collection- and more money to spend on it. What do you collect? Where does the money come from?

My Journey to Millions: Affording the Costs of Living – Presently, I’ve learned to compartmentalize things by remembering what I sometimes call the “random fund”. The random fund is small cache of money I mentally set aside that is used to pay for all the little random things life can throw at you.

Invest It Wisely: The Three Stages of Financial Freedom – Last week, I talked about the three stages of financial despair. This week I am going to look at the flip side, the three stages of financial freedom. We all want to get out of the rat race, but before we get there, we need to get out of the hole and onto level ground.

Money Cone: Selling Stuff on Amazon: A Step-by-Step Guide – How would you like to get rid of your old stuff and get paid for it? Toys, DVDs, gadgets, books, CDs… everyone’s got a few! But instead of junking them or even worse, letting them collect dust, why not sell them from the comfort of your home? With Amazon Marketplace, you can!

———————————————————————————————————————————————————–9. Automatic scheduled payments and savings – In my finances, I try to automate as many things as possible so that they happen without me having to remember to do them (which helps prevent me from failing to do it). I have automatic payments set up on everything from paying my homeowner’s association fees and internet bill to saving for a trip to the Grand Canyon in 2012-2013!———————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Live Real, Now: Fighting Fair – Arguments in your marriage aren’t–or shouldn’t be–intended to draw blood. Fights happen. If your goal is to win at any cost, you will both lose, possibly everything.

Investorz Blog: Why Being an Investor is an Ideal Career Path – There are two big decisions in life: who you’re going to marry, and what career path you’ll take. This post concerns the later. Here is why I believe that being an investor is the ultimate “job” one can have.

HowToSaveMoney.ca: Using Freezer Cooking as a Way to Reduce Your Grocery Budget – Don’t be intimidated by freezer cooking. It can be as easy or as hard as you make it. If you just simply double your recipes when you are cooking your dinner, you will have a stocked freezer and more money in the bank, before you know it.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————–8. Google Docs Spreadsheet – My my – where would I be without Google Docs spreadsheets? I use these little gems to track my net-worth movements from month to month, my spending in order to group the totals in to different categories, and my running monthly budget to make sure I’ve met all of my monthly requirements.———————————————————————————————————————————————————–

The Frugal Toad: Estate Planning Basics – What You Need to Know – Have you ever thought about what would happen if you became incapacitated or died? What would happen to your home and other assets? Do you have a will and does your spouse know what your final wishes are? An estate plan is a set of legal documents that will make sure that your final wishes are taken care of.

Personal Finance Whiz: How To Live On One Income – A Budget For A One Income Family – Can you live on one income? It may not seem like it if you have always had a two income household. But, it’s totally doable. A year ago, I might have felt differently, but this year, we’ve moved to one income in our household.

Narrow Bridge Finance: What Is the Best Time of the Year to Sell Stocks? – As we approach the end of the year, some investors are going to try to minimize their taxes by selling stocks. Someone recently asked me when you should sell, and the answer can be complicated depending on your situation.

Beating Broke: DIY Disaster; or, Our New Deck – Be sure you do as much analysis as you can on the project, and budget for unforeseen issues, before you tackle any major DIY project. Also, it’s better to have it done right, than have it done cheaply, so if you get in over your head, find a professional to help you. Many will gladly charge a consulting fee to come and tell you what you need to do next. Find one that will, or hire one to finish the job so that it’s done right.

Bucksome Boomer: A Blogger Without Internet Is Like. . . – I like getting unconnected during vacations but those times are planned. Instead of running out to a fast food restaurant with free WiFi, I took and breath and decided to make the best of it. It wasn’t bad but thankfully the outage was only 16 hours.

Money Is the Root: How Well Do You Know Your Health Benefits – Until recently, the extent of my knowledge of my healthcare benefits was that I was insured. After all, we place such a high emphasis on simply being insured that we don’t know what’s covered until the worst happens.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————–7. Cash Back Credit Cards – The credit cards really don’t benefit too much from having me as a customer (except for making money off of the point of transaction fees they charge vendors) since I never carry a balance month to month. Nevertheless, I really love that they give me the benefit of receiving 1-5% cash back on all of my purchases! Very nice!———————————————————————————————————————————————————–

My Broken Coin: Is Hoarding The New Frugal? – My friend is a very frugal person: she counts every penny, she evaluates every purchase, and she does her research before she decides to buy anything whether it is a car or a pair of shoes. Read her story here!

Money Reasons: Controlling Christmas Costs – This is how I control Christmas Costs in the past, present and future. These are strategies that worked for me and perhaps will work for you!

———————————————————————————————————————————————————–6. High Yield Online Savings Accounts – Have you ever gotten on a traditional brick-and-mortar’s banking website and looked up what interest they’re paying on regular savings accounts? These days, it’s around 0.05%. Yes, you read that right – there’s a zero before the 5! haha However, with these online money market savings accounts (that are also FDIC insured), you can get many times greater interest payments!———————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Funancials: I Only Listen to Techno – crats – Technocrats are becoming very popular in within our debt-stricken governments. Greece and Italy have already placed two technocrats in charge of their countries, now which countries will follow?

Finance Fox: Thinking of Going Back to Former Employer – Would You? – Returning to a former employer is a real trend, and it’s happening in all industries. The trend is appropriately dubbed as “boomeranging.” No one said all relationships are perfect the first time. Maybe the second time around is the charm.

Newlyweds on a Budget: The Biggest Myths about Marriage – Long time married couples have often touted these three soundbites as the best kept secret to a long-lasting marriage. But, I’m here to tell you why these are the biggest marriage myths of all time.

Squirrelers: The Albert Pujols $254 Million Contract and the Pursuit of Money by the Top 1% – Would you turn down a job that offered you several million dollars more per year than the next best alternative? Of course not! Then why do people complain when athletes switch teams and do this? This post covers the topic of hypocrisy when judging the top 1% – from the perspective of someone squarely in the 99%!

The Happy Homeowner: Maintaining Your Financial Plan During the Holidays – The holidays can be one of the most challenging times of year to maintain your financial plan. This article provides some easy ways to help you keep an eye on your bottom line as you shop for gifts, host & attend parties, and celebrate the season.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————–5. Roth IRA’s – My Roth IRA is quite indispensable in my overall finances. Each year, it is one of the highest priorities to be funded in order to save for retirement and shelter money from taxes while it grows.———————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Investor Junkie: Best 2011 IRA Promotions – The holiday season is here, and that means the end of the year is almost near. Now is the time for investors add money to your IRA account. If you currently don’t have one, now is the time to open an account. I’ve gathered up the best IRA investment promotions.

20s Finances: Getting a Bank Loan – Learn about what factors you need to consider when you are going to take out a bank loan and why you should use it as a last resort.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————–4. Online Charity Donations – Each year, I donate to a Multiple Sclerosis fundraising event called the Tour de Vine. I also rally fundraising support for the event from others as well. Being able to process donations online in a secure environment plays a big role in making the fundraising process go smoothly.———————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Passive Income To Retire: Keep My Day Job? – In my plan to retire from passive income, I have often questioned at what point will I quit my day job. It is hard to pass up on some of the benefits that my day job offers. Find out what my plan is.

Prairie Eco Thrifter: The 30K Challenge: Online Money Bloggers – I was honoured when I received an invite from two of my blogging pals Derek @ Life and My Finances and Corey @ 20′s Finance to participate in a new year challenge. At first, when I read that I would be challenged to make 30K next year online, I almost fell out of my chair followed by writing an email saying “Are you nuts?”

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff: A Great Workout Music Playlist – Here is the workout playlist my husband put together for me to get me motivated. I really love the songs below, so don’t be too harsh, lol.

Cents To Save: Becoming A Full Time Caregiver – I have come to the realization that I will be my parents full time caregiver. As an only child, this is something that I knew might happen. Did I think it would happen now? No, not at all. I was pretty content enjoying my new home out in the country as a empty nester. But, with my mom’s recent diagnosis of Stage 4 brain cancer, things have definitely changed.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————–3. Index Mutual Funds and ETFs – As a passive investor, I don’t trust myself in making investments in buying/selling individuals stocks. Instead, I invest the majority of my money in index mutual fund and ETFs.———————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Cash Flow Mantra: Preparing SMART Goals for 2012 – Being an active blogger brings about many benefits, one of which is the fact that I end up reading a lot of material online and offline and so get to learn a lot of new things. One of the things that I learned this year is about goal setting and making my goals SMART.

TotallyMoney: Easy Mince Pies – A simple mince pie recipe for the run up to Christmas

———————————————————————————————————————————————————–2. Microloans – I’m a fan of placing a relatively small amount of funds each year in microloans for developing countries. For me, I see this as sort of a mix between investing and a donation. By doing these types of loans, you can really have an impact to get someone’s life going. To invest in microloans, I have found that Microplace.com is reliable.———————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Don’t Quit Your Day Job…: What is the Net Worth of Members of Congress? – Ever wonder how your wealth compares to members of Congress? I’m going to go out on a limb here and tell you that they’re likely winning the horse race… a full 6+% of Congress is in the upper 1% of net worth in America. On the other hand, 30 members have a negative net worth. Make you think… remember, these folks set the country’s budget!

Former Banker: You Got Fired, Now What? – I got fired! What do I do now? How do I maintain my lifestyle? How do I start looking for a new job? Do I qualify for unemployment?

The Milionaire Nurse: Shoplifting: Top Ten Holiday Favorites – Businesses will have over a hundred billion in lost profits from shoplifting in 2011. This figure does not even take into account the revenue spent in loss prevention. Crowded stores during the holiday season make it even easier for shoplifting to occur. On top of that, the most popular items stolen change during this season of good cheer.

Family Money Values: Growing Your Blog with Staff Writers – Ever thought about getting help with your blog? What are the benefits of using staff writers; management tasks related to use of them; payment and legal aspects of their use; and the blog results seen from using them?

Free From Broke : Tips for Holiday Tipping – The holidays creep up fast and all of a sudden you realize you need to tip people! But, who to tip and how much? Check out some basic guidelines and tips for holiday tipping.

Money Cactus: Wealth Creation Online: Untemplater Interview – Sydney took over the reins of Untemplater early this year and has been doing a fantastic job of delivering quality content and encouraging people to shatter the template lifestyle.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————–1. C.O.T.A.P. Folders and Microsoft Outlook Electronic Financial Information Storage System – Keeping track of detailed personal finance records can be a big pain, especially since the majority of records are being stored electronically these days. To manage all of this, I use a system of folders both on my computer/back-up hard-drive and Outlook email interface known as the C.O.T.A.P. system. In this system, a different folder is made for Clients, Output, Teams, Administrative, and Personal items. What I’ve found is that amazingly enough, most all documents fit in to one of these folders. Hence, the system works well!———————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Sustainable Personal Finance: Sustainable Index Invest – Is oil sands producer Suncor really the best choice to go into a fund like this? Newmont Mining? Really? Where are the solar and wind power companies? What’s up with all the banks on there? What do they do to help the environment, besides recycling their bottles?

Faith and Finance: 8 Year-End Tax Moves to Consider at the End of 2011 – Before you know it, 2011 will be in the past and tax season will be upon us. Because it will be here sooner than you know it, now is a good time to look at what you’ll need to accomplish for your 2011 taxes before the end of the year

Comments

Great Job with the carnival Jacob! I would have to say Vanguard's app for my iTouch. Vanguards site provides exactly the information that I want without being cumbersome to use. Great company, great app!
My recent post How to Teach Kids the Value of Money

Thanks so much for the inclusion and thanks too for hosting. Sounds like you have a great list of tools in place. We use Quicken for logging our stuff and it works great. We also use rewards credit cards which are super great for traveling.

Thanks for stopping by Miss T! I just purchased a copy of Quicken to use for 2012 to track things courtesy of some advice I received from Robert @ College Investor. I look forward to seeing how it goes with Quicken!
My recent post Easy Like Sunday Morning Weekly Recap and Roundup – # 5 – December 17th, 2011

Thanks for the inclusion, Jacob! Strangely enough I got the trackback from a spammer site instead of from here!
My recent post Book Review and Giveaway Part One: Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules of Wealth You Should Have Learned in School

haha – Sorry you had to hear about the post via a spam site! I suppose I owe them a “thank you” for promoting my material, in their own way!
My recent post Easy Like Sunday Morning Weekly Recap and Roundup – # 5 – December 17th, 2011

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The information provided on this site is not financial advice, and I am not a financial professional. This is not a recommendation to buy, sell, or trade securities, or to invest in any specific product. I can buy, sell, or hold any positions mentioned on this website at anytime. Thanks for visiting!